Entry-level AI jobs: where they are and how to land one

Entry-level AI jobs exist, but they are scarce and sit behind a few doors: internships, graduate programmes, new-grad roles at AI startups, and fellowships. On Tokn, as of 28 October 2026, about 7 in 100 European AI jobs and 3 in 100 North American ones are internships or carry an explicit entry-level title. Europe has the higher share; North America has the higher count.

The wider market is tight too. New graduates made up 7% of Big Tech hires, down more than half since 2019, according to SignalFire's State of Tech Talent 2025. In the US, employment of 22 to 25-year-olds in the most AI-exposed occupations was about 19% below the trend of less-exposed peers, according to the Stanford Digital Economy Lab's August 2026 update, mostly through less hiring of young workers (the authors stress the patterns are descriptive, not causal). Here is where the real openings are, and what they ask and pay.

In short

• As of 28 October 2026, we count 67 real entry points in Europe (6.9% of the board) and 95 in North America (3.3%): internships plus explicit entry-level titles.
• The biggest labs, OpenAI and Anthropic, list no internships or new-grad roles. Their entry doors are fellowships and residencies.
• Technical AI internships in the US post $46 to $80 an hour. US new-grad bands have a median midpoint of about $164k. Paris internships post €1,200 to €2,000 a month.
• Remote entry-level AI jobs barely exist: 6 of 162.

How many entry-level AI jobs are there?

Not many. We hand-checked every internship and every role with an explicit entry title (new grad, junior, early career, associate, graduate, fellowship) on Tokn, leaving out annotation gigs and roles asking for three years or more.

Europe's share is about twice North America's. Celonis inflates it, but even without Celonis Europe sits at 5.0%.

The biggest employers on our board post almost nothing for beginners. OpenAI (about 420 active jobs) and Anthropic (about 350) list no internships or new-grad roles; Anthropic's entry-type postings are its Fellows Program and one research associate role. Mistral AI lists 2 internships among 88 European jobs.

Why "junior" labels mislead

A "junior" tag often just means the ad asks for one or two years. On Tokn, 142 of the 242 junior-tagged North American jobs are neither internships nor entry-titled, and about half of those with a posted band start at $150k or more. So when you browse the junior-tagged roles on Tokn, read the experience line, and check internships too.

The entry points that actually exist

Internships are the widest door, graduate programmes and new-grad roles come next, and fellowships are the long shot.

AI internships: the main door, especially in Europe

Internships are 45 of Europe's 67 entry points and 50 of North America's 95. France's six-month end-of-studies internship drives the European numbers: Paris alone has 27 entry-level postings. As of 28 October, internships were advertised at Mistral AI, Doctolib, Shift Technology, Ekimetrics, Artefact, Veepee and Perplexity (Berlin and London).

In North America, research is the biggest entry category (31 of 95), led by Together AI, Applied Intuition, Mercor, Pika, Physical Intelligence and Waabi. Most of these want PhD or master's students.

Graduate programmes

The clearest example is the Celonis Orbit Program, an "immersive 12-month" graduate programme in value engineering, according to Celonis' postings. It is posted once per market (UK, DACH, Benelux, Nordics, French-speaking and others) with a hub in Madrid, and asks for SQL, Python and the market's language. Celonis has 20 of Europe's 67 entry points, 14 of them Orbit postings: one programme, not 14 jobs. The work is consulting-style, close to a forward deployed engineer role.

New-grad and early-career roles at AI startups

AI startups, not the big labs, post most permanent entry-level roles. Examples advertised as of 28 October:

• Sierra: Software Engineer, Agent (New Grad 2027), London and San Francisco.
• Scale AI: Software Engineer, New Grad, London and San Francisco.
• Applied Intuition and SambaNova: six new-grad engineering roles each.
• Harvey, Decagon, Fireworks AI, Abridge, LangChain, Perplexity and Snowflake: new-grad or "early career" titles.

Junior AI engineer jobs are mostly missing: AI engineer is rarely a first job, as we explain in how to become an AI engineer.

Residencies and fellowships

Fellowships pay you to do research for a few months. Places are few and dates matter.

Anthropic's Fellows postings list a weekly stipend of $3,850 (£2,310 in London) plus compute. Anthropic has said you don't need a PhD, prior ML experience or papers, and that over 35% of past fellows joined full time. The Cohere Labs dates come from a past scholar's write-up, not an official page.

AI-trainer and annotation gigs

Search "AI jobs no experience" and you will find annotation and AI-trainer gigs, such as xAI's "AI Tutor" roles. We leave them out of our counts: we think they rarely lead to engineering or research roles, so treat them as side income, not a first step.

Which entry-level AI roles are open to juniors?

Research leads in North America. In Europe, data science, LLM work and machine learning are level.

In Europe, data science internships at Shift Technology, Ekimetrics, Artefact and Veepee are a steady route. North American research internships mostly want PhD students; see research scientist vs research engineer for how the two tracks differ.

Europe vs North America: where to look

Europe has proportionally more entry points; North America has more overall and pays far more.

Europe

Paris leads with 27 of 67 entry-level postings, then Madrid (13, all Celonis Orbit), London (12) and Munich (6). London's include new-grad roles at Sierra and Scale AI and the Anthropic Fellows postings. Language helps: seven European entry-level ads ask for a second language, against one in North America.

North America

San Francisco has 40 of 95 entry points, New York 13 and Austin 6. Another 28, mostly at Applied Intuition and Nuro, have no city mapped. Canada has 5. Browse AI research jobs in the US for the research-heavy end.

Entry level AI jobs remote: almost none

Only 6 of 162 entry-level postings are fully remote (4 in Europe, 2 in North America). Most state no policy, but expect to be in the office.

What entry-level AI job ads ask for

About 6 in 10 entry-level ads ask for Python, in both regions. Beyond that, the asks diverge.

A PhD is mostly a North American research-internship requirement: a third of North American entry ads mention one. North American ads also ask for projects far more often; our guide to building an AI portfolio covers what to show.

What entry-level AI jobs pay

Pay depends on the country and on whether the role is technical. Figures are posted base pay, excluding equity and stipends.

US and Canada internships

Technical AI internships at AI companies post $46 to $80 an hour, about $8,000 to $13,900 a month at 40 hours a week. Business, operations and marketing internships post $24.50 to $45 an hour.

US new-grad roles

We found 26 new-grad or early-career postings with a band, at 13 companies. The median band runs from about $140k to $181k (median midpoint about $164k), from $90k to $115k (Applied Intuition, UX test engineer) up to $180k to $270k (Perplexity). Examples: Scale AI $124k to $162k, Sierra $150k to $180k, Harvey $165k to $181.5k. Non-engineering entry roles pay less: Celonis' US Orbit role posts $90k to $95k.

Europe

European postings rarely state pay. The internship stipends we found, from 9 postings at 3 companies (Shift Technology, Ekimetrics, Back Market), mostly in Paris, run from €1,200 to €2,000 a month: a small sample, not a market rate.

Sierra's London new-grad software engineer roles post £120k to £150k plus equity. That is a US company paying near US rates, far above typical London junior pay: an outlier, not a benchmark. For European salaries by role, see AI salaries in Europe.

How to land an entry-level AI job

Apply early, aim at startups as well as labs, and show work.

1. Apply on the right calendar. US Summer 2027 internships were posted in September and October 2026. French six-month internships for early 2027 are being posted now.
2. Target companies that post entry roles. Celonis, Together AI, Applied Intuition, Sierra, Scale AI, Ekimetrics and Shift Technology each advertised several as of 28 October. Reach OpenAI and Anthropic through their fellowships.
3. Build two or three projects that match the ads, in Python, ideally with a model or LLM app you shipped.
4. Use your languages in Europe. Programmes like Celonis Orbit hire per market.
5. Apply to a fellowship in parallel. Places are few, but a PhD is not always required.

For the full process, from CV to interviews, read our step-by-step guide to getting a job in AI.

Find entry-level AI jobs on Tokn

Start with the junior-tagged roles on Tokn, then look for AI internships in your city and field, such as data science jobs in Paris. Internship season for 2027 is under way: set up a job alert.

FAQ

Can you get an AI job with no experience?

Yes, mainly through internships, graduate programmes and fellowships, which are built for people without a previous AI job. You still need proof of skill: Python, projects you can show and, for research roles, often a PhD in progress.

Is AI engineer an entry-level job?

Rarely. Most people get there through a software engineering or data science role first. Our guide on how to become an AI engineer lays out the route.

Are there remote entry-level AI jobs?

Very few. As of 28 October 2026, only 6 of the 162 entry-level postings we checked on Tokn were fully remote.

How much do entry-level AI jobs pay?

As of 28 October 2026, US technical AI internships post $46 to $80 an hour, and US new-grad bands have a median midpoint of about $164k. Paris internships post about €1,200 to €2,000 a month (9 postings at 3 companies).

Do I need a PhD for an entry-level AI job?

Only for research internships and scientist roles, mostly in North America, where about a third of entry-level ads mention one. In Europe, 3 of 63 did.